Child neglect services in Stockton are getting better but there is still room for improvement.

That’s the verdict of a joint report due to go before Stockton Council Cabinet next week.

Ofsted, the CQC (Care Quality Commission) and the police and fire inspectorate were among those who carried out the probe in November - digging into how well public services were doing in Stockton in helping young people suffering abuse.

The borough’s safeguarding team won praise for its “sharper focus” on neglect and the work it had done in the wake of serious case reviews.

And the combined report said inspectors found no examples of decisions that left children at risk of significant harm.

However, there were some areas of concern.

When it came to front-line policing, the report found “inconsistencies remained” in the quality of decisions made on safeguarding - including child neglect cases.

The report added: “Cleveland Police are experiencing difficulties in managing demand linked to vulnerability and in the protection of children in particular.”

It also uncovered how other agencies dealing with the problem were “not consistently made aware” of children living in potentially neglectful environments by Cleveland Police.

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A “lack of resilience” in some safeguarding teams due to staff sickness had caused delays to action in some cases, according to the report.

The report also raised concerns about how the combined Stockton and Hartlepool Children’s Hub had not always recognised signs of chronic neglect - with the voices of children sometimes “drowned out” by adult needs in a small number of cases.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom.

Cleveland Police was also lauded for its training scheme “through the eyes of the child” designed to help its officers identify risks to youngsters.

And the report praised how dentists had been used to identify neglect through their assessment of children’s teeth.

It added: “Children do not often experience changes of worker and their social workers are able to visit them regularly.

“As a result, they are able to build relationships of trust that help achieve better outcomes for them.

“This is particularly important for older neglected children who may have poor emotional health and be harder to reach.”

Detective Chief Inspector Helen Barker, from Cleveland Police’s protecting vulnerable people unit, said the force had a strong focus on protecting vulnerable people to stop children of all ages suffering neglect.

She added: “This report details how £2m was invested into providing additional resources in specialist teams - including those responsible for delivering child protection.

“This is assisting in strengthening Cleveland Police’s ability to manage demand and risk more effectively.”

Det Chief Insp Barker added that training had been delivered to front-line staff and those in the control room to help them identify neglect at the “earliest possible opportunity” by capturing the views of children affected by domestic abuse.

She said: “This helps to improve the assessment and prioritisation of risk and therefore provide a better service to victims of all ages.

“The improvement drive is ongoing throughout the force with continuous learning and interaction between specialist teams and front-line officers.”